More than 100 people braved the elements to stand outside Cornwall's main hospital to show their support for the National Health Service and protest against the government cuts which have "lashed the service to the bone".

Despite strong drizzle which soon turned to heavy rain and heavier hail still, several groups of NHS supporters clustered around the A390 roundabout on the approach to the Royal Cornwall Hospital's (RCH) main entrance in Truro.

Many carried placards and banners protesting against the chronic underfunding the NHS has been under for years. Other blew whistles and honked football match fog horns to gather support from drivers.

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Drivers in their hundreds honked their horns as they passed while passengers on city buses waved from behind the windows as passing ambulance crews, firefighters and even police also showed their support for the NHS with a hoot and a wave.

Many of the placards and signs had slogans such as 'Toot if you love the NHS', 'the NHS is not for sale', 'Our NHS should remain public', 'Labour will save our NHS', 'NHS in crisis fix it now' or 'Fix our NHS'.

One gentleman was even brandishing a sign with a quote and a photo of Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS more than 60 years ago, which read 'It [the NHS] will last as long as there are folk left to fight for it'.

"I was born under the NHS and worked for it for 36 years," said retired registered mental health nurse Glyn Dean, who stood in the larger cluster of demonstrators near the entrance to Treliske. "This NHS can be the very best in the world but only if it s given the proper funding."

The demonstration outside Cornwall's largest hospital was part of a national day of action against cuts to the national health service.

Similar demonstrations also took place outside Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital in Exeter with a large event in London attracting thousands of demonstrators from all over the UK.

Jane Bernal, a retired consultant in Cornwall and one of the organisers of the event outside the RCH, said the turnout was 'brilliant' considering the truly awful weather conditions.

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She said: "There are so many concerns about the NHS. This is a demonstration in favour of our NHS. People think all the staff in the NHS deserve a gold medal and that's how we all feel too but we don't believe that they are being given the resource to do the job that we want them to do.

"They haven't got the staff. They haven't got the beds and they haven't got the funding they deserve."

Dr Bernal said the demonstration was non-political as the NHS belonged to everyone regardless of their political affiliation.

She added: "The NHS is far too important to be left to just one political party."

A demonstration took place outside Cornwall's main hospital as part of a national day of action to save the NHS (Image: Olivier Vergnault)

She added: "The NHS is being cut to the bone. But it's not just the health service it's every emergency services that's underfunded.

"If we don't anything about it it will soon be too late. Closing MIUs which alleviate the pressure on A&E makes no sense. Why close them at all? It's the same with moving radiotherapy services to Devon. The idea that people in Penzance could have to travel to Exeter for their radiotherapy treatment is madness when they are already poorly and ill."

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Mrs Dean added: "The NHS belongs to us all and for anyone trying to sell it off when it's not theirs to sell in the first place is criminal.

"It should be illegal for the Government to try to sell it off when the NHS doesn't belong to them. It belongs to us all. It is our NHS."

Demonstrators against NHS cuts braved the rain and hail to show their opposition to cuts to the national health service outside the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro (Image: Olivier Vergnault)

The day of action demonstration, which was scheduled to last from 11am to 1pm, not only received support from drivers and passers-by but also from people on social media.

Sally Gibson took to Facebook to comment on Cornwall Live's Facebook Live broadcast from the scene saying: "The whole service seems to be at a tipping point and a serious debate is needed to ensure that appropriate levels of funding can be secured. In my view we should stop wasting billions on Trident and use it to fund this vital service."

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George Barnes added: "Let's have more support for health service in Cornwall this government are not helping. I don't think they appreciate we are out on a limb and don't have periphery support from hospitals in at 360° radius from us."

Lesley Timms agreed, writing: "The NHS is our property, not our government. We are envied all around the world. They come here for operations, to have babies etc, etc. We love our NHS. And we’ll never stop fighting to keep it. Our doctors and Nurses work 12 hour days. Save millions of people a year."

Stina Nicholson added: "Doctors and nurses are amazing they are just being held back by cut backs. Help our NHS."